“We Were Denied Our Son’s Burial”: A Family Torn Apart Over Burial Rights in Marange

Odzi, Zimbabwe – May 2025

A bitter family feud has erupted in the Marange area of Odzi after a man, Thomas Chirara, stormed Chief Marange’s community court demanding that his nephew’s body be exhumed and reburied at their ancestral home.

Chirara claims his nephew, Kudakwashe Chirara, was buried in secret by his late brother’s in-laws—without consulting or informing the paternal family. Kudakwashe, a man in his early 50s, died recently while living with his mother’s side of the family, the Mwavheras. According to Thomas Chirara, the Mwavheras deliberately excluded his side of the family and even violently blocked them from retrieving the body for burial in Nyagundi, the Chirara family’s traditional resting ground.

Speaking with visible emotion before Chief Marange’s court, Thomas recounted the pain of not only losing a loved one but being stripped of the right to bury him.

“I was assaulted when I tried to attend the funeral. We were told our only job was to dig the grave and perform rituals, but that we had no say in where or how our son would be buried,” he said.

He accused the Mwavhera family of using a longstanding dispute about lobola (bride price) as a pretext to deny the paternal family burial rights. The Mwavheras allege that the Chiraras never formally paid roora for their daughter, Kudakwashe’s mother, and therefore forfeited any rights over him.

“They say we never married their daughter properly. That’s a lie. We have receipts. We paid the bride price. They’re using this to humiliate us,” said Thomas.

He further revealed that the Chirara family had arranged with a funeral parlour to collect the body and transport it to Nyagundi. But their plans were thwarted when the Mwavheras allegedly confronted the funeral home staff with threats of violence. The Chiraras were forced to abandon the burial altogether.

“We had no choice but to leave. It was no longer safe for us to attend. But this has left our entire family unsettled. Our nephew’s spirit is not at peace. We want his body returned to our ancestral land.”

The maternal family, led by Edmore Mwavhera—Kudakwashe’s grandfather—remains defiant.

“These people used my daughter and dumped her. We raised Kudakwashe. We took care of him when they abandoned him. We buried him the way we saw fit,” Mwavhera told the court.

He claimed the Chiraras were only now seeking control of the burial because of pride, not love.

“Now that he is gone, they want to show off as if they cared. We did the right thing.”

Village Head Mwavhera also confirmed the tension surrounding the funeral, revealing that he had tried to involve both families but that the Chiraras did not return to participate. He said the police advised that the burial proceed because of time constraints and the absence of a court order to stop it.

Chief Marange, ruling on the matter, said the court sympathised with Chirara’s pain but emphasized the need for lawful procedures.

“Exhumation is a serious matter. You cannot simply demand it. The law must be followed. If you have a legitimate claim, you must apply through the courts and prove your case,” said the Chief.

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A Legal Tangle of Custom and Authority

The case shines a spotlight on a common but complex issue in Zimbabwe: the clash between customary law and modern legal processes when it comes to burial rights. In many communities, the right to bury a deceased person—especially a man—is traditionally reserved for the paternal family. However, evolving family structures, urban migration, and disputes over lobola have made such matters deeply contested.

As the Chirara family prepares to escalate the matter legally, experts point to several previous cases where the High Court intervened to order exhumation due to the exclusion of blood relatives from burial decisions.

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What Happens Next?

If Thomas Chirara and his family want the body of Kudakwashe exhumed, they will have to file an application in the civil division of the High Court, supported by:
• Affidavits proving their familial link,
• Evidence of exclusion or violence,
• Customary and cultural justification for the reburial.

They may also need to prove that the current burial site was not chosen by the deceased himself and that exhumation would not cause undue harm or public health risk.